The Impact of Teaching Simple Harmonic Motion Supported by A Smartphone-based Sensor on Students’ Conceptual Mastery

Abstract

One of the common challenges encountered when conducting physics experiments is ensuring measurement accuracy. Conversely, the emergence of smartphone-based sensor applications presents an opportunity to address these issues. Thus, this research aimed to assess the effectiveness of Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite (PTSS), a smartphone-based sensor, in enhancing students’ conceptual mastery of simple harmonic motion. The study employed a non-equivalent control group design, with a valid and reliable multiple-choice test as the research instrument. The sample comprised 70 2nd grade students from a public senior high school in Indonesia, with 35 students for each experimental and control group. The research was conducted during the Even Semester of the 2022/2023 Academic Year at a public high school in Lampung Province. Both groups were instructed using the same pedagogical approach-discovery learning. However, the experimental group conducted experiments aided by PTSS, while the control group did not. N-gain analysis revealed a greater increase in conceptual mastery within the experimental class compared to the control class. The average n-gain for the experimental group was 0.74, whereas for the control group, it was only 0.64. Furthermore, the Mann-Whitney test indicated an Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.004, smaller than 0.05, suggesting that smartphone-based sensors like PTSS could facilitate simple harmonic motion experiments and enhance students’ conceptual mastery.